A Brief History of the Humbles™ Illustration Style

The illustration style used at Humbles™ didn’t begin as a brand decision.
It began as a way of working.

Before it ever lived on garments, it lived in tattoo shops. Years spent working as a tattoo artist shaped how drawings were made and how they needed to function once they left the page. Tattooing teaches clarity early. A drawing has to read quickly. It has to hold its shape. It has to make sense on a moving body.

That way of thinking never left.

Drawing With the Body in Mind

A lot of our communication skills were shaped long before this work lived on garments. They were developed at the counter of a tattoo shop.

Someone would come in with an idea. Sometimes it was clear. Sometimes it wasn’t. A chef wanting a knife tattoo. A musician asking for a single note. A feeling that needed to be turned into a picture. The conversation usually ended the same way: just draw the thing.

Tattooing teaches you how to listen, simplify, and translate quickly. You learn how to take an idea and turn it into a symbol that reads instantly and lives comfortably on the body. It wasn’t about overworking the idea. It was about making sure the image communicated clearly from the customer’s point of view.

Some drawings left on skin. Others stayed in the shop, painted out as flash and pinned to the wall.

Those sheets were built in blocks. Images arranged across the page in a way that felt balanced without feeling crowded. Each drawing had to stand on its own, but it also had to belong to the whole. Too much space and it felt unfinished. Too little and it felt noisy. You learned to trust the spacing. You learned to see the entire page at once.

Painting flash wasn’t just about drawing. It was about arrangement. About how multiple images lived together inside a fixed frame.

That way of thinking carried forward naturally.

In screen printing, you often fit multiple images onto the same screen to keep the process efficient. When that became part of the studio, the connection felt obvious. The way flash sheets were arranged in blocks already followed the same logic.

From Skin to Fabric

The body was still there, just interpreted differently.

Drawing on skin and drawing on fabric require different decisions. The way the image is applied changes. Skin absorbs ink one way. Fabric holds it another.

Instead of fighting those differences, the work leaned into them.

Curved edges. Slightly blown-out corners. Confident, flat fills. What might have started as a limitation became part of the identity. The drawings grew bolder and clearer, built to read instantly and hold up from a distance.

This is where application and function meet.

Done Is the Goal

In tattooing, you learn when something is finished. Overworking shows. Hesitation shows. Knowing when to stop is part of the craft.

That idea followed the work into the studio.

Around here, it became a running line that stuck: done is what we strive for.

Not rushed. Not careless. Just resolved.

The goal is artwork that works. Artwork that translates cleanly to screen printing. Artwork that holds together whether it’s one symbol or a full collection. Artwork that can be applied across tees, hoodies, and long sleeves without losing its voice.

A Style You Can Return To

As Humbles™ grew, this illustration approach became the foundation of the studio’s visual language. A shop style clients could rely on. A way of drawing that was proven, worn, and familiar.

The drawings didn’t need to change drastically to stay relevant. They needed to stay clear, adaptable, and honest to the surface they were made for.

That history still shows up in the work today. Every new drawing carries the same priorities it always has. Clarity. Placement. Respect for the material.

Where It Lives Now

Today, the Humbles™ illustration style lives across garments, studio projects, and hosted work. It continues to evolve through use, repetition, and time in the studio, refined through years of application.

It isn’t about chasing new styles. It’s about continuing a way of working that’s already been tested, worn, and lived in.

That’s the history behind the drawings you see now.
And it’s the same place every new piece begins.

This piece is part of an ongoing set of studio notes from Humbles™, shared as the work takes shape.

Illustration Style FAQ

Where did the Humbles™ illustration style come from?

It developed through years of working as a tattoo artist, where drawings needed to read clearly, hold their shape, and make sense on a moving body. That discipline shaped how ideas were simplified and translated into symbols that work.

How did tattooing influence the way collections are built?

In tattoo shops, drawings often exist both on skin and on flash sheets arranged in blocks. That way of thinking carried forward. The same awareness of spacing, balance, and how multiple images live together inside a frame now informs how collections are designed for print.

Why is clarity so important in the drawings?

Clarity ensures the artwork reads instantly and translates cleanly across different surfaces. Whether on skin, fabric, or print, the image needs to communicate from the viewer’s point of view. Function matters as much as appearance.

How does screen printing shape the style?

Screen printing requires working within a fixed space. It’s common to place multiple images onto a single screen to keep production efficient. That practical structure reinforces the block layouts that began with flash and shapes how the artwork is arranged and applied.

Does the illustration style change over time?

It evolves through use and repetition rather than trend shifts. The materials may change, but the priorities remain the same: clarity, placement, and respect for the surface the drawing lives on.

Why is “done” emphasized so strongly?

Knowing when to stop is part of the craft. Overworking weakens clarity. Finished work should feel resolved and confident, not forced or overly decorated.

Where can I see these illustrations applied?

Across tees, hoodies, long sleeves, studio projects, and hosted collections. The drawings are designed to work individually or together, maintaining their voice across different formats.

 Finished work should feel resolved, not forced.